Gujarat to form rules for cab operators

The Gujarat government has announced plans to regulate smartphone application based national as well as international cab service providers operating in the state, after the rape of a young woman by the driver of a smartphone application based taxi service in Delhi.

Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government has announced plans to regulate smartphone application based national as well as international cab service providers operating in the state, after the rape of a young woman by the driver of a smartphone application based taxi service in Delhi.

According to Gujarat's state road transport minister Vijay Rupani, the Gujarat state government has already initiated a process to identify such operators and number of taxis operated under their banner in the state.

"The Gujarat state government has taken a serious note of the rape incident in Delhi. We found that many national companies with national permits run their radio taxi service here, but they are not regulated under any local by-laws, since no rules exist today to regulate such services" Rupani told reporters here today.

He claimed that the problem lies with such radio cabs since regular taxis, run by individual drivers follow all norms laid down by the transport department.

"Thus, my department held a detailed meeting today with the police department to discuss the framework on how to regulate such taxi services in the state. We need to develop a foolproof system and set of rules to ensure safety of passengers," Rupani said.

He claimed that the state government has already set the ball rolling to form new rules for such operators here. The set of rules may include some compulsory features, such as GPS and distress button for the passenger, who could alert the main operator by pressing that button in the car in case of an emergency, Rupani said.

"To form rules and regulations, we are now studying laws of other states, if any, in this regard. We are also taking suggestions from experts. We will announce the new rules very soon," Rupani said.